Petermann Ice Island (PII-A) now off Labrador coast:

Video of the gigantic iceberg known as the Petermann Ice Island as it drifts near Battle Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The video was taken by a Port Hope Simpson fisherman and gives you a good idea of the size of this monster. The poster of the video describes it as being roughly 3 miles by 2.8 miles. It’s unclear whether this particular berg is PII-A or PII-A-a, since larger icebergs generally break up as they move down the coast.

Where did the Petermann Ice Island come from?

Environment Canada has a very interesting page that details where the iceberg is now, and all the changes it has undergone since it broke away from the Petermann glacier in Greenalnd during August of 2010.

Canadian Ice Service (CIS) revealed that a large section of the Petermann Glacier terminus (a large glacier in Northwest Greenland) had “calved” (i.e. fractured) off, creating a large “ice island” - Environment Canada website.

Residents of Newfoundland might be able to get some good photos of the berg if it makes it to the northern peninsula. If any of our readers from Labrador or the island manage to get some pictures, feel free to send them along!

Want more icebergs?

We linked a video last week of a different iceberg collapsing. It was also from the Battle Harbour area, but filmed a few years prior. And here’s another from Twillingate.